AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd cut its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 50.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,730 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,760 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $2,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.2% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,991,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $522,002,000 after purchasing an additional 98,922 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 17.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,728,554 shares of the company's stock worth $453,123,000 after buying an additional 261,562 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6.2% during the second quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,652,648 shares of the company's stock worth $433,225,000 after acquiring an additional 96,981 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.6% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,122,475 shares of the company's stock valued at $294,246,000 after acquiring an additional 39,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,006,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,904,000 after acquiring an additional 185,126 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 1.0 %

Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded down $2.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $299.30. 710,112 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 468,741. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $291.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.16. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a fifty-two week low of $232.77 and a fifty-two week high of $308.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.74.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.49 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $295.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $272.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $321.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $315.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $278.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $309.47.

Willis Towers Watson Public Profile

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company operates as an advisory, broking, and solutions company worldwide. It operates through two segments: Health, Wealth & Career and Risk & Broking. The company offers strategy and design consulting, plan management service and support, broking and administration services for health, wellbeing, and other group benefit program, including medical, dental, disability, life, voluntary benefits and other coverages; actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for pension and retirement savings plans; retirement consulting services and solutions; and integrated solutions that consists of investment discretionary management, pension administration, core actuarial, and communication and change management assistance services.